First Look : £1,000 Specialized Diverge E5 Sport

Not keeping the distinctive band on one of the sleeves is a travesty.

@AidanR it's a quantum "conversation law" then - conservation of "relative annoyance". If motorists must be more vexed by having to pay more attention, not being able to vent their frustration at cyclists or having to not stick to a slightly lower speed limit 😉... ... then relative annoyance must also increase for cyclists. If you're no longer in fear of dying so often something else must get worse - so you have to always wear safety gear (possibly uncomfortable, definitely uncool). Dunno why they don't just mandate actual clown shoes * or riding bikes without saddles. * The more "technical" cleat systems actually fulfil this when you're off the bike...

@Psi163 The bus drivers in Mallorca are the ones that scare me. They do not seem to care for cyclists.

@mdavidford I like that, and I think it applies to a lot of political compromises: political entanglement, if you will. If road rules are tightened for drivers around cyclists, they must also be tightened for cyclists so that there's no "bias". No matter that the safety evidence that compulsory helmet wearing is weak at best.

Calling something with just 36% merino a merino jersey is a travesty. I'd suggest supporting someone like CimaCoppi.cc. Excellent jerseys. The long sleeve thermal is brilliant for Celtic Isle like climates. The short-sleeve jerseys are incredibly well designed and work brilliantly across cool to hot conditions.

Why go tilebagging when you can go carpetbagging instead?

Looks great - but at £195 I suspect Rapha will have to rely on sales, promotions and SportPursuit to shift any meaningful volumes, thus diluting the consumer perception of the brand even further. There's no reason Rapha can't reduce their price point to increase the addressable market size. If Lusso who make their stuff in the UK can retail a great jersey for £120, Rapha who make their stuff in China should be able to achieve £150. If they did that, Rapha's commercial woes would be cleared by the volume increase pretty quickly - and without having to give margin to third parties.

Nothing to do with the cat - it's the quantum entanglement of rules that affect cyclists and drivers.

The Darimo carbon crank axle seems like a terrible idea. Frame manufacturers have been struggling for many years to make BB shells to the correct dimensions for fitting BBs, partly due to changes in size during the cooling/curing of the carbon. I'm not sure it will be any easier for a crank axle, and that probably needs to have even tighter tolerances. Plus, any unseen voids could cause serious problems - I hope they are doing an x-ray on every crank. Just because something is possible doesn't mean that it's a good idea.

@sclarke3@talktalk.net The scariest close pass I ever experienced was an SUV towing a trailer. The idiot forgot that his trailer was slightly wider than his wankermobile.